Saeb Erekat
Saeb ErekatFlash 90

Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, has been infected with COVID-19, according to an announcement on his official Twitter account on Thursday.

Erekat underwent a lung transplant at a hospital in Virginia in 2017.

In 2016, Erekat was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory disease caused by the formation of scar tissue inside the lungs. Erekat received medical treatment in Israel, and it was later reported that he was waiting for a lung transplant in Israel.

However, the Ministry of Health and the National Transplant Center said Erekat was not on the waiting list for a lung transplant in Israel.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority “health ministry” reported six more deaths from coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the death toll from the virus to 418.

In addition, it reported another 510 new cases of the virus, of which 281 were in Judea and Samaria, 102 in the Jerusalem district and 127 in the Gaza Strip.

The PA announced in August it was prolonging a lockdown in Judea and Samaria for five days following a spike in coronavirus infections.

After the easing of a previous coronavirus lockdown in late May, PA “health minister” Mai al-Kaila said the PA had entered a second wave of infections "more dangerous than the first".